My Retirement to Costa Rica-Pura Vida? We'll Find Out

After 30 years of service as a pharmacist at a world famous hospital in NYC my dream has finally come true. I have moved to somewhere tropical with the person that I have loved for those same 30 years.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. When I was younger I loved the winter, the snow, skiing, drinking hot chocolate on a frigid day. I remember clearing the snow from the basketball court so we could play ball when the temperature was in the 30's. As I got older I had less tolerance for the cold weather and up until recently the temperature cut-off for playing ball outside was up to 50 degrees.

My vacations were spent in the warm weathered islands of the Caribbean with the Dominican Republic being my favorite vacation escape. My dream was to eventually have a Villa in the Caribbean.

About 4 years ago I did a search on the web to find the best warm weather places to retire to that had a Latin culture. It was important to find a place that had good and affordable health care, a good sized middle class, a low cost of living, and something to do so I would not be bored. I am lucky that the person that I have been living with all of these years also has the same dream as me.

The web search came up with Belize, Panama, and Costa Rica.

We chose to visit Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica because it reminded us of the lushness of the Caribbean that we loved so much. It is in the rainforest and up on the hills and has spectacular views. Well, if the Caribbean is considered tropical, then Costa Rica has to be considered super-tropical. The size of the vegetation, of the mountains, of the red snappers, of the iguanas, are all gigantic. The amount of wildlife is incredible. Troops of monkeys only a few feet away, toucans in the trees, colorful tiny frogs, slow moving sloths, green parrots flying by. Pristine beaches, gorgeous ocean views, horseback riding along the beach or to a hidden 3 tiered waterfall. It's really a photographer's dream. Especially one who loves the colors that life brings.

Of course to have such lushness and to be living in a rain forest there comes with it a rainy season, or what's called the a "green" season for tourism. It is especially rainy in the months of September, October, and November. Or so they say.

OK, so we were literally sold on moving to Costa Rica and invested in a new development called Hacienda Matapalo. We did our due diligence and were expecting it to be completed by the latest, 2013, when I would complete 30 years at my job. Long story short.....they ran out of money, we found a home already furnished near Dominical, and purchased it. Dominical is in the same area that we originally wanted and it is known as the place where the rain forest meets the sea.. Hacienda Matapalo may or may not finish. We may or may not get our money back. But time waits for no one and we were not getting any younger. We had a plan and were going to stick to it. The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom......ok, enough trite expressions. The costa rican people have. An expression, Pura Vida, which means the pure or good life. we are going to find out if it's true.

Next time...........the move out of NYC and a new beginning in Costa Rica.